The present invention relates to a female terminal which is electrically connected by removing an oxide film adhering to a male terminal.
There is proposed a female terminal 50 such as the one shown in FIG. 6.
This female terminal 50 is comprised of a box-type electrical contact portion 53 in which one end portion of a base plate 51 is formed as a bottom wall 52, an electrical connection portion 54 for connecting an electric wire (not shown) to the other end portion of the base plate 51, and a resilient contact piece 55 disposed inside the electrical contact portion 53. A front retaining piece 56a and a rear retaining piece 56b are formed by folding back one end portion and the other end portion of the bottom wall 52, respectively. The tongue-shaped resilient contact piece 55 extends between the front retaining piece 56a and the rear retaining piece 56b. The resilient contact piece 55 and a tab-like contact portion (not shown) of a male terminal inserted through an opening 53a in the electrical contact portion 55 are electrically connected. Incidentally, the same is the case with a resilient contact piece (not shown) which is folded back into the electrical contact portion 53 from one end of the bottom wall 52.
However, in a case where an oxide film adheres to the tab-like contact portion, there is the risk of occurrence of a faulty electrical contact between the resilient contact piece 55 and the tab-like contact portion due to the oxide film.